What do you do to cut expenses down?

[comeongetdown]

I just sat and read all 11 pages
We do a lot of the same things y'all posted but I just thought I'd add that we cloth diaper our kids. I'd like to try cloth pads, but I draw the line at family cloth lol
Also, I sew, so I make a lot of the kids clothes. Especially fancier (aka more expensive) outfits like Holiday dresses and Halloween costumes.
My husband brews beer, and is damn good at it.
I'm also starting a 'Back to Eden' style garden this year which I'm really looking forward to. Once it's set up it's supposed to be pretty self sufficient, requiring no watering or fertilizing and minimal weeding.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to SS! I had my son (now 10yo) in cloth diapers much of the time as well. The disposable ones are lovely, but the price…

Please keep us posted on that garden when you get going with it? It sounds interesting.

 

[comeongetdown]

thanks @sumi
I think disposables are lovely as well, but like you said...

I learned about Back to Eden from the backyard chicken forums, here's a (super long) video about it

but the gist is you want a thick layer of mulch, and you just keep layering a little bit more each year, and *don't* till it in, just layer on top. I'm in CO where our summers get real dry, so I'm interested to see how it turns out.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hello @comeongetdown and welcome! Can't wait to hear how your Back to Eden garden progresses! We love picture too...

 

[tortoise]

Back to Eden garden is a new idea to me. I've been reading about it this morning! Thanks for sharing!

I've been doing something similar for my asparagus garden. It's a perforated kiddie pool sunk into the ground to retain moisture. I mulch with fine wood shavings and don't have to weed all year. I've read asparagus is hard to grow from seed, but I've have very good luck. I sold my yearling asparagus last year, but this year I think I'll replenish our shrinking asparagus bed. Seems like a perfect place to apply BTW gardening since hubby isn't in the habit of tilling with the tractor there. We have the worst weed problems in our garden. I'm convinced that cultivating in in BTE styles would work so much better. Hubby has been stashing cardboard for blueberries and I'm set on finding pine needles to pile on top and mulch them heavily.

I am planning on starting more little garden areas to keep hubby out of my hair. He's just fine gardener - he does most of the work - but we have very different ideas about how to get the work done.

 

[baymule]

We have power line contractors working in our area, cleaning the right of way. We told them they could dump the wood chips on our property and let me tell you, they HAVE! Plus we let them park their trucks here at night and on the weekends, so it has worked out mutually beneficially to both parties. We probably have 15 loads of wood chips and had them dump a couple of loads at our neighbor's too. There are new wood chip piles in people's yards in the area, so the "wealth" is generously shared.

I mulched the garden day before yesterday with 4 year old wood chip mulch. We got it from a friend and he let us have all we wanted. It is black and crumbly.

Back to Eden? @Beekissed has a thread on www.theeasygarden.com -- link at the right of this page.

Our soil is pure sand, think beach without the ocean. The first year was a total wipeout. Last year only half of everything died and half of what lived produced wonderfully. This is our 3rd year and I am looking forward to a great garden year.

 

[sumi]

@baymule I was thinking about you and the new place yesterday. I can't believe you guys have been there that long already, time flies! It must be completely transformed from what it was when you first moved in there.

 

[tortoise]

A project begins! We have a small blacktop erosion control area by our barn. It's hideous. I have a lot of gravely yard debris from our gravel driveway edges. Nowhere to dump that.

I started dumping the gravely rankings on the blacktop. I presume the gravel will settle and lock into the rough blacktop surface, giving a layer water can wash through without carrying the above-layers with it. I'll dump yard clippings and barn bedding on top and let it decompose. In a few years I should be able to plant perennials there. For what I've read, grass is poor for erosion control and would probably peel away. Perennials would be a better choice than grass.

 

[baymule]

@baymule I was thinking about you and the new place yesterday. I can't believe you guys have been there that long already, time flies! It must be completely transformed from what it was when you first moved in there.

It is a huge difference from where we started. DH had shoulder replacement surgery on the 8th of this month, so that is slowing us down a little. He'll go for therapy 3 times a week for probably the next 2-3 months. We have a neighbor bringing his big tractor this week to help spread the wood chips, he'll dump them and I'll use our little tractor to spread them. Always something to do! LOL

 

[Mini Horses]

Always something to do! LOL

Ain't THAT the truth. I have to work around my PT work schedule, the weather, etc. Last week looked good out the window but, winds of 20-25 made it hard to do much. I did get a rough grade of the piggy field before a rain, their fence down & am planning to move their huts to the chicken coop area this week. Then I can re-grade and plant the food plots for the animals in that pig section. I am really working at growing out as much as I can for animals...now & into Fall for Winter use. If I can cut my feed/forage bill by 10-15% I'll think it a good start. Two of my fields have strong grass & I am hoping I can keep it growing well & use it for "banked" grass for the winter. Would help with some late graze. Most years our weather doesn't give snow & ice storms until mid Dec....so Oct & Nov, some grazing. Will also grow some winter wheat for graze this year!! That should work for some winter but, especially for early Spring.

The hog huts will work for 12 in a group for night cooping.
I have some hens/roo that I want separate to get the eggs fertilized to produce what I want, rather than what they wanted. Hoping to then have some young ones to sell late Spring, plus replacements for my own layers. This will be the year that I will need to start up butchering again, excess roos. I really hate the thought because it is such a mess. But I know, too, that after you get set and started it all works out ok. Plus a freezer of chicken for winter isn't anything to sneeze about.

I Am SOOOOOO ready to start a garden again. Next week will plow the area, rest it, till it again. Will be able to do things like peas, etc. Plus, time to get plants started in about 2 wks. Hope it all goes well with weather.